Heartbreaking news...a big reminder to be aware of wildlife on property

[jahber]

I knew the rest of Florida had gators, but I always thought they were joking about WDW. I can't believe they allow them in the waters. This is horrific and terribly unsafe. Brought back memories of DS the first time we stayed at Poly. I remember him being near the water. We won't be going near that at night anymore. What a terrible thing to happen.

There is no way to "not allow" alligators to live in a lake. You can (and Florida Fish and Wildlife does) capture and kill them once you know they are there. But you can't stop them from coming in. It's their natural habitat. It's sad beyond belief, but it's also a reality we live with as Floridians. It's so incredibly rare for an alligator to take a child that we forget to be wary around water (or non-natives don't realize it's even a danger). But it is. And this was a tragic, tragic reminder of that. I am heartbroken for that family. There has been too much death in my town this week.

 

[jahber]

And just for anyone wondering: if you see a body of water, assume there is a gator in it. Seriously. Because there likely is one that calls it home. Canals, retention ponds, natural lakes, man-made "lagoons"--I've personally seen gators in all of them. Be safe.

 

[thetallone101]

Uhm... Is this common knowledge?
I consider myself pretty Disney Educated but would've bet money on the fact that there are no gators in the Seven Seas Lagoon...
Yes, I am aware it's Floriday, yes, I am aware Disneybis mainly build on swamp land but I am also aware that it is a man made lagoon.. So...

I just wouldn't expect gators on Property (especially not around the GF or other resorts)...

Wow... How absolutely heartbreaking :/ I would've never expected this to be a possibility... And I am overly cautious and won't even let my kids play alone in the backyard (they are 5 and 7) for the fear of them getting hurt or whatever...

It wasn't long ago that someone posted photos on here of a gator in still water right next to the splash mountain ride...so I'd say they are around.

 

[Finally08]

I knew the rest of Florida had gators, but I always thought they were joking about WDW. I can't believe they allow them in the waters. This is horrific and terribly unsafe. Brought back memories of DS the first time we stayed at Poly. I remember him being near the water. We won't be going near that at night anymore. What a terrible thing to happen.

I have photos of a gator in the water at MK (by Frontierland/Tom Sawyer Island) - it's hard to keep them out of FL waterways.

 

[AJDonn]

This just hurts.

 

[yulilin3]

I knew the rest of Florida had gators, but I always thought they were joking about WDW. I can't believe they allow them in the waters. This is horrific and terribly unsafe. Brought back memories of DS the first time we stayed at Poly. I remember him being near the water. We won't be going near that at night anymore. What a terrible thing to happen.

Every body of water, big or small, natural or man made has alligators
Disney does monitor and remove them but it's impossible to catch all of them

 

[soniam]

There is no way to "not allow" alligators to live in a lake. You can (and Florida Fish and Wildlife does) capture and kill them once you know they are there. But you can't stop them from coming in. It's their natural habitat. It's sad beyond belief, but it's also a reality we live with as Floridians. It's so incredibly rare for an alligator to take a child that we forget to be wary around water (or non-natives don't realize it's even a danger). But it is. And this was a tragic, tragic reminder of that. I am heartbroken for that family. There has been too much death in my town this week.

I know that they can't prevent them from moving into WDW waters. However, could they set traps for them? We have pretty aggressive coyotes in my neighborhood. They have hauled off small pets, injured large dogs, and we no longer have stray cats. They actually set traps for them.

 

[yulilin3]

I know that they can't prevent them from moving into WDW waters. However, could they set traps for them? We have pretty aggressive coyotes in my neighborhood. They have hauled off small pets, injured large dogs, and we no longer have stray cats. They actually set traps for them.

I'm sure they at traps, this baby had to be playing very close to the waters edge

 

[thedonduck]

You can't touch them until they get to a certain size. And as soon as one is moved out another moves in. This is a terrible, tragic accident. The 7 seas lagoon is connected to the lake, which brings in fish, etc and thus attracting gators and other wildlife

 

[Hisgirl]

Uhm... Is this common knowledge?
I consider myself pretty Disney Educated but would've bet money on the fact that there are no gators in the Seven Seas Lagoon...
Yes, I am aware it's Floriday, yes, I am aware Disneybis mainly build on swamp land but I am also aware that it is a man made lagoon.. So...

I just wouldn't expect gators on Property (especially not around the GF or other resorts)...

Wow... How absolutely heartbreaking :/ I would've never expected this to be a possibility... And I am overly cautious and won't even let my kids play alone in the backyard (they are 5 and 7) for the fear of them getting hurt or whatever...

We were there in April at the GF and while we didn't see gators in the lagoon, we DID see gators in ALL of the ponds surrounding GF: across the street at the shades of green golf course and also in a side one along the side of the adjoining road. GF and Poly, YC and BC all have beaches on a lagoon. There is no way they can guarantee a gator isn't in the waters. I wonder how they plan to handle future safety. Horrible tragedy.

 

[Guyton dis lover]

They usually catch them with a fishing pole. I have seen them snagged and also caught with bait . It is very hard to move them out of an area.

 

[melana]

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

Absolutely heartbreaking! I feel so bad for the parents! I cannot imagine what they're going through, especially being on vacation at Disney and then happy times turn so tragic.

 

[Jfsag123]

We are just across the lagoon at BLT right now and I feel sick to my stomach thinking about what is going on on the other side of the water. So incredibly sad for that family and child. It has been a really rough week for Orlando. So much tragedy.

 

[Alesia]

Uhm... Is this common knowledge?
I consider myself pretty Disney Educated but would've bet money on the fact that there are no gators in the Seven Seas Lagoon...
Yes, I am aware it's Floriday, yes, I am aware Disneybis mainly build on swamp land but I am also aware that it is a man made lagoon.. So...

I just wouldn't expect gators on Property (especially not around the GF or other resorts)...

Wow... How absolutely heartbreaking :/ I would've never expected this to be a possibility... And I am overly cautious and won't even let my kids play alone in the backyard (they are 5 and 7) for the fear of them getting hurt or whatever...

There are gators in pretty much every body of water in Florida. We always see at least one in the parks on every trip. If we're actually looking for them, we'll see one or two every day.

 

[Sammie]

I am heart sick. A parent's worst nightmare.

But Yes there are gators on Disney property. They do an excellent job of removing them but it is Florida and if there is water, expect a gator, or snake to be in it. There are signs for that reason.

We have been going for over 35 years and I have seen a gator in every body of water near a park, in a park, on the golf courses, at resorts.

Gators move from one body of water to another, as to how they get in the lagoon, which is also connected to Bay Lake.

 

[dnkmmw]

I have seen an alligator at Disney World. I think it was two years ago. As someone else mentioned, it was near Space Mountain. There have been others who have seen snakes. I actually thought it was common knowledge that these potential predators are all over in Florida.

 

[jahber]

I know that they can't prevent them from moving into WDW waters. However, could they set traps for them? We have pretty aggressive coyotes in my neighborhood. They have hauled off small pets, injured large dogs, and we no longer have stray cats. They actually set traps for them.

I've only ever heard of traps being set to catch known alligators or during hunting (which is not to say it never happens). But traps on a lake the size of the 7 Seas Lagoon would be a never-ending process of trapping and releasing baby gators, for one thing. Fish and Wildlife doesn't remove them until they are bigger than 4ft. And then if you report it, they come and kill it.
I've swum in lakes with alligators before. Lake Wahlburg up at UF has gators, for example. The lifeguards are trained to watch for them and they would call us all our of the water when the gators wanted to sun on the diving platform. Anyone who has swam in a lake in Florida swim with gators. The Girl Scout camp I attended had a lake we swam in, and we would go listen to the gators at night. They are everywhere and they don't usually attack humans. That's why this is so unexpected and so so sad. It's the consequence of building in Florida.

 

[drquest]

This is horrible to read. My wife just walked in and showed me the news. We've seen gators in the lagoon for years. Usually we see one on the boat between Wilderness Lodge and CR. I've even taken pictures of one there before.

Terrible....

 

[TARAMEOW]

This is so sad! I can't believe all the heartache going on in Orlando this week. TBH I'm from Canada and while I know Florida has gators I would of never thought that would be one of the dangers to my child while visiting Disney. Perhaps Disney needs to be proactive in putting up signs to warn guests of the potential danger.